Species
Country checklist and status
You can download and print a checklist for Somalia.
Somalia has an avifauna of 660 or so species of which 302 species are resident, 89 are intra-Africa migrants, 153 are Palearctic migrants and there are several species of global conservation concern (FISHPOOL, L.D.C. and EVANS M.I. editors 2001).
Endemic species
| *Archer’s Buzzard | Buteo archeri |
| Somali Pigeon | Columba oliviae |
| Ash’s Lark | Mirafra ashi |
| Somali Lark | Mirafra somalica |
| Archer’s Lark | Heteromirafra archeri |
| Lesser Hoopoe-Lark | Alaemon hamertoni |
| Obbia Lark | Spizocorys obbiensis |
| **Bulo Burti Bush-Shrike | Laniarius liberatus |
| Warsangli Linnet | Carduelis johannis |
* Some authorities consider this to be a separate species and others subsume it into B. rufofuscus or B. augur.
Some authorities raise the endemic and endangered subspecies of Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceus to Somali Thrush Turdus ludoviciae to species level.
** Bulo Burti Bush-Shrike Laniarius liberatus is not part of the accepted national list at this time and is included in List C - species requiring confirmation. A single specimen was captured in an isolated patch of disturbed acacia scrub at Bulo Burti, central Somalia in January 1989, taken to Germany for study in captivity, and returned to Somalia and released at a different site in March 1990. It was described as a new species on the basis of DNA studies of its blood and a few feathers - see reference (iii).
John Miskell (in correspondence) states that the reason it is not yet accepted on the national list is that the DNA of the only existing specimen was not compared to the all black "morph" of the Tropical Boubou Laniarius aethiopicus. JM further states "the all black bird was originally described as Laniarius erlangeri from Erlanger’s specimens from the Juba valley. A black and white subspecies Laniarius aethiopicus somaliensis was described from Erlanger’s specimens from the same area. Later, museum workers lumped both forms as L. aethiopicus erlangeri. Only the all black bird occurs along the Shabeelle river, including just south of the type locality of L. liberatus. John Ash, Joseph Mwaki, and I have all seen and heard the black bird along the Shabeelle, and noted that it does not sound anything like a typical Tropical Boubou Laniarius aethiopicus. When Joseph Mwaki first heard it he immediately said ‘Gonolek!’. It will probably eventually prove to be a full species." Anyone who actually goes looking for it is more likely to find Red-naped Bush Shrike Laniarius ruficeps which is common on the red sand areas once one is away from the clay soils along the river.
Near endemic species (found in 3 or less countries)
| Little Brown Bustard | Eupodotis humilis |
| Chestnut-naped Francolin | Francolinus castaneicollis |
| African White-winged Dove | Streptopelia reichenowi |
| Fischer’s Turaco | Tauraco fischeri |
| *Forbes-Watson’s Swift | Apus berliozi |
| Mombasa Woodpecker | Campethera mombassica |
| Collared Lark | Mirafra collaris |
| Gillett’s Lark | Mirafra gilletti |
| Blanford’s Lark | Calandrella blanfordi |
| Rufous Short-toed Lark | Calandrella somalica |
| Malindi Pipit | Anthus melindae |
| Pangani Longclaw | Macronyx aurantiigula |
| Somali Wheatear | Oenanthe phillipsi |
| Sombre Rock-Chat | Cercomela dubia |
Somali Short-billed Crombec | Sylvietta philippae |
| Somali Long-billed Crombec | Sylvietta isabellina |
| Little Yellow Flycatcher | Erythrocercus holochlorus |
| Violet-breasted Sunbird | Cinnyris chalcomelas |
| Long-tailed Fiscal | Lanius cabanisi |
| Somali Chestnut-winged Starling | Onychognathus blythii |
| Swainson’s Sparrow | Passer swainsonii |
| Arabian Golden Sparrow | Passer euchlorus |
| Juba Weaver | Ploceus dichrocephalus |
| Fire-fronted Bishop | Euplectes diadematus |
| Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver | Plocepasser donaldsoni |
| Northern Grosbeak-Canary | Serinus donaldsoni |
| Brown-rumped Seedeater | Serinus tristriatus |
| *Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak | Rhynchostruthus socotranus |
* possibly the only country in Africa for these species.
Threatened species
Lesser Kestrel | Falco naumanni | Vulnerable |
| White-eyed Gull | Larus leucophthalmus | Vulnerable |
| Somali Pigeon | Columba oliviae | Vulnerable |
| Ash’s Lark | Mirafra ashi | Endangered |
| Archer’s Lark | Heteromirafra archeri | Endangered |
| Bulo Burti Bush-Shrike | Laniarius liberatus | Critical |
| Warsangli Linnet | Carduelis johannis | Endangered |
The lists of endemic, near endemic and threatened species have been compiled from a number of sources including the African Bird Club, BirdLife International, and Birds of the World Version 2.0 ® 1994-1996, Dr. Charles Sibley and Thayer Birding Software, Ltd. For further information on Somalia’s threatened species, see BirdLife International.
Last page update 1st March 2007
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